News Summary

Published: April 28, 2007

INTERNATIONAL A3-10

White House Scales Back Expectations for Iraq
Senior White House officials said in interviews that they are scaling back their expectations for the Iraqi government. The timelines they are now discussing suggest that the Bush administration may maintain the increased numbers of American troops in Iraq well into next year. A1

The American military said it had detained four Iraqi men suspected of helping to smuggle homemade bombs from Iran to Iraq and bringing guerrillas from Iraq to Iran for training. The men are suspected of having ties to a kidnapping ring. A10

Saudi Arrests Break Terror Ring
Saudi security officials said that they had broken up a vast terrorist ring, arresting 172 men who planned to attack public officials and military posts, and storm a prison to free terrorist suspects. A1

Japan Rejects Compensation
Japan's Supreme Court rejected compensation claims filed by former wartime sex slaves and forced laborers from China but acknowledged that they had been coerced by the Japanese military or industry. A8

Formal U.S. Protests to Britain
The British government confirmed that it received two diplomatic protests from the United States in January after it canceled an inquiry into allegations of bribery by a top military contractor to secure contracts in Saudi Arabia. A8

Somalia Claims Lull as Victory
After fighting that killed more than 1,000 people, insurgents melted back into Mogadishu, and hundreds of families began to return home. The transitional government claimed victory, but insurgents say they intend to simply switch tactics. A8

NATIONAL A11-14 ;18

New Orleans Evacuees Give Farm Life a Try
Nearly 200 former New Orleans residents have signed on to work 791 acres of land near Simmesport, La. They have to perform eight hours a week of community service and look for work or go to school. In return, they can live rent free in a three-bedroom two-bath mobile home. A1

Archbishop to Come to U.S.
The Anglican Archbishop of Nigeria, a fierce critic of the Episcopal Church for its acceptance of homosexuality, is coming to Virginia next weekend to install a bishop to lead congregations that want to break with the American church. A11

Raids Anger Bay Area
Federal immigration agents have conducted surprise raids in the Bay Area as part of the government's ''Operation Return to Sender.'' And while the raids have upset many pro-immigrant groups, that displeasure has been particularly acute in the Bay Area, where many cities consider themselves sanctuaries for illegal immigrants. A14

Results on Duke Lacrosse Case
The North Carolina attorney general's investigation of the Duke lacrosse case found that the accuser, whose account was pivotal for the prosecution, had ''insurmountable credibility issues,'' including frequently changing statements that were contradicted by physical evidence and photographs, other witnesses and her own previous assertions. A14

Sacramento Students Arrested
Law enforcement officials in Sacramento arrested four secondary school students, including one youth carrying a loaded gun, averting what the police say was a plot to shoot two fellow students. A13

NEW YORK/REGION B1-6

State Trooper Was Killed By Fellow Officer's Bullet
The bullet that killed a New York State trooper during a shootout Wednesday morning inside a farmhouse in the Catskill Mountains came from the gun of a fellow officer, not the suspect they had cornered, the state police said. A1

Spitzer Offers Gay Marriage Bill
Governor Spitzer proposed legislation that would make New York the second state to legalize same-sex marriage, fulfilling a longtime pledge to supporters of gay rights. Mr. Spitzer has acknowledged that he does not expect the bill to pass. B1

Religion Journal B6

SPORTSSATURDAY D1-8

Guilty Plea in Steroid Case
A former Mets clubhouse assistant pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in San Francisco to distributing performance-enhancing drugs to dozens of former and current Major League Baseball players for a 10-year period, the latest blow to a sport that has been battered by the issue of steroid use. A1

OBITUARIES A15

Mstislav Rostropovich
A cellist and conductor who was renowned as one of the great instrumentalists of the 20th century and an outspoken champion of artistic freedom in the Soviet Union during the last decades of the cold war, he was 80 and lived in Paris. A1

ARTS B7-16

ABC Mum on 'Grey's' Spinoff
ABC is hoping that no one notices what could be its biggest winner in next fall's television season, a spinoff of its hit nighttime soap opera ''Grey's Anatomy.'' B7

BUSINESS DAY C1-9

Tariffs and Gender
The tariffs on imported clothing, which penalize men in some instances and women in others, may be the last legal form of sex discrimination in the United States. Now, several apparel makers are challenging the tariffs in lawsuits against the federal government A1

Business Digest C2

EDITORIAL A16-17

Editorials: The abstinence-only delusion; far past time to go; a glacial pace on warming; cutting Shrek down to size.